1. Single Chair, Mad River Glen, VT – 1948 American Steel & Wire Single Chair
The single chair at MRG still has its original towers and terminal structures but everything else was replaced by Doppelmayr CTEC in 2007. As part of that project, towers were removed, sandblasted and repainted before being flown back to new foundations with new line gear. Doppelmayr also replaced the bullwheels, chairs, grips, drive and haul rope. This begs the question of ‘when is an old lift a new lift?’
2. Gatlinburg Sky Lift, Gatlinburg, TN – 1954 Riblet double
Everett Kircher of Boyne fame bought this chairlift from Sugar Bowl, CA for $3,000 in 1954. Originally it was a single chair built in 1939. Modified sheave assemblies were machined at the Kircher’s car dealership in Michigan when the lift went to Tennessee. At some point it appears to have gotten newer-style Riblet towers. Boyne Resorts still operates this lift 800 miles from their nearest ski resort. (edit: JP notes in the comments below that this version was replaced by a Riblet double in 1991. Thanks JP!)
3. Chair 1, White Pass, WA – 1955 1962 Riblet double
This lift only operates on busy weekends and holidays but it’s an old one and a good one . A classic Pacific Northwest center-pole double with very few modifications from its original design and no safety bars! (edit: Brian notes in the comments that this lift was actually installed as Chair 2 in 1962. The original chair 1 operated 1955-1994.)
4. Mountain Platter, Burke Mountain, VT – 1956 Poma platter
This lift has a strange history; it was shortened in the 1960’s and then lengthened with a turn added in 1983. There aren’t too many 4,800′ platters left out there like it. The platter is practically underneath a brand new Leitner-Poma detachable quad.
5. Chair 1, Mt. Spokane, WA – 1956 Riblet double
Spokane was the home of Riblet Tramway Company for more than a hundred years so it’s only fitting that the local ski area has five Riblet doubles in pretty much original form. The oldest is Chair 1 which was built in 1955 but not finished until 1956.
6. Summit, Kelly Canyon, ID – 1957 Riblet double
Kelly Canyon actually used this Riblet lift as a template to fabricate a homemade version right alongside it when more capacity was needed. Riblet never sold this ski area another lift although it now has a second (genuine) Riblet double which came from Vail.
7. Snowdon Poma, Killington, VT – 1958 Poma platter
This surface lift was one of two original lifts at the Beast of the East which now has 20 lifts. It’s more than 2,200 feet long and still operates despite being sandwiched between a newer triple and quad chair.
8. Banff Gondola, Banff, AB – 1959 Bell 4-passenger bi-cable gondola
Garaventa did a bunch of work on the Banff Gondola in 1997 which included new carriages and 40 new CWA X cabins. This is actually the third set of cabins on this gondola. Unlike most of the lifts on this list, the Banff Gondola operates all year long. I would not be surprised to see a completely new gondola built in the next few years at this major destination.
9. #3/Bateau, Sugarloaf, ME – 1959 1956 Constam T-Bar
Like all of these lifts, #3 T-Bar has some newer components, namely Leitner springbox T’s. It cost $57,000 to build and sixty years later is sometimes the only lift Sugarloaf can open on windy days.
10. 7th Heaven, Stevens Pass, WA – 1960 Riblet double
This lift has a newer Riblet overhead drive-tension terminal but the towers and top terminal are original from 1960. In fact, five of ten lifts on this list are Riblet doubles which can clearly stand the test of time.
Lift Blog 
The Riblet lift un Gatlinburg was installed in 1991, its 100% Riblet. Previous, a Heron double was in its spot.
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I should say the Gatlinburg Sky Lift is a “Riblet”, reenginerred by Superior Tramway, with Superior line equipment. The lift is maintained by Boyne’s MI lift Maintenance crews.
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the Macgully triple at Boyne Highlands, Mi opened in 1963 with another triple as the world’s first triple chairlifts. I know it’s not as old but it’s the first triple ever made. Boyne Mountain also opened the world’s first quad in 1964 (that was replaced in 2008 by a doppelmayr) and has parts from the world’s first chairlift on the Hemlock chair.
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sorry didn’t mean to specifically reply to this comment
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The other triple you are referring to I think was the Mines Peak Triple at Berthoud Pass, Colorado.
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Wasn’t the Mines Peak Triple a 1989 Borvig? It was relocated to Mad River, Ohio. It looks to be a 1989 Borvig from the chair, tower, and terminal model.
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This article missed the oldest chair in Canada. It is still operating at Mount Baldy in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The chair was built by ship builders on their days off in 1953, I believe.
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Interesting. I know their T-Bar was built in 1971 but don’t have a date for the double chair. It looks like a Riblet to me.
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Having skied / ran races / ski patrolled there, and asked about its history its er… murky. Apparently the 1953 date is accurate, and it was built after ‘careful study’ of other lifts. Its got some very very interesting design features, and is the only chair I genuinely feared for loss of life through exposure . (its as low as -40 operating and VERY exposed). The new owners for last couple of years have at least I understand worked on the operational and safety side. Its for sure still going to be running this season still.
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Aspen, CO #5 Bell Mountain Riblet Double chair – Installed 1957 and is still in operation.
Lake City, CO platter lift was originally installed at A-Basin in the 1940’s at some point, but records are scarce. It was moved to Lake City, shortened and reinstalled. Much of the structural steel has 1944 markings from PA steel mills.
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bateau is a 56 installation
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I would think that the MRG single still counts as an original lift. The towers are original along with the top terminal.
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The MRG Single was completely REMOVED in 2007, refurbished, and REINSTALLED as a used lift in 2007.
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I think the MRG single is the fastest fixed grip chair.
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Re: White pass lift. Chair # 1 (pictured) was actually built as chair # 2 around 1962 and installed parallel to the original chair # 1, (1955) which was removed when the adjacent high speed quad was installed. The original lift had only one “erector set” type tower, the rest were “modern” tubular style.
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Thanks Brian, changing a lift’s name always creates confusion. Makes sense though that White Pass replaced the older of the two lifts with Great White.
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Chair #2 has always been called chair #2 and was built in 1958. Chair #1 was built in 57 and was removed in 1994 when Great White was built. #2 does not run for public anymore.
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Saw this old boy running briefly around Christmas. I think they were getting all the snow off it/doing maintenance.
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Hey Del,
Not sure if you still read any of these, but are you able to elaborate on why Chair 2 doesn’t run on busy weekends anymore?
It was really nice to have that option back in the 90s and 2000s when it got real crowded. There were some crazy days this year…
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1961 Von Roll VR101 Skyride. Cedar Point Sandusky Ohio. Von Roll VR101 lifts are one of the most solid detachable lifts ever made.
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Tamarack chair at Kimberley BC came used from either Lake Louise or Banff. It is prehistoric….a double w a center pole and towers with crisis-crossed metal staves. Wish I had a picture.
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The 1962 Carlevaro-Savio Silver Queen from Crested Butte is still in service as a quad at Timberline, WV.
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Silver Queen at Timberline WV is entirely Heron Poma.
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Why is the 1939 AS&W single still operationg at Mt. Eyak not mentioned here?
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I only included lifts in their original locations.
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I’m pretty sure at Arizona Snowbowl there was a rope tow built in 1938
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Mt. Waterman has a double installed in 68 or 69 still in operation.
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Chair 2, 1968.
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You can throw in Greek Peak’s 1963 C&S double. It has Borvig chairs but everything else is pure original, and it operates every single day the mountain is open.
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Another Carlevaro & Savio, the Yellow Chair at Bousquet’s in Pittsfield, Mass. went up the same year as Greek Peak’s, all original minus its SLI chairs that went on circa 2000.http://www.newenglandskihistory.com/lifts/viewlift.php?id=143
Bousquet’s itself is a real throwback too, a great place. Anyone have $2.8 mil? Its for sale! https://www.stonehouseproperties.com/real-estate/101-dan-fox-dr-pittsfield-ma-01201/222147/52412413
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Where did it’s SLI chairs come from?
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No clue. The rumor in our race league at the time was they were shipped out from Utah but I never got a clear answer from anybody.
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Utah would make some sense as two SLIs were removed from The Canyons in 1997.
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4 – 60’s era Miner Denver Ski Lifts
1962 double, Lift 1 40 horse w/hydraulic drive
1965 double, Lift 2(relocated) 40 horse w/ hydraulic drive
1967 double chair, 150 horse w/hydraulic drive
1969 triple chair, 100 horse w/hydraulic drive
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4 – 60’s era Miner Denver Ski Lifts
1962 double, Lift 1 is a 40 horse w/hydraulic drive
1965 double, Lift 2(relocated) is a 40 horse w/ hydraulic drive
1967 double chair, is a 150 horse w/hydraulic drive
1969 triple chair,is a 100 horse w/hydraulic drive
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There is another Miner Denver at Copper Peak in Ironwood, MI.
There are remnants of a drive station at Tyrolean Hills in Sparr,MI
Last 2 demolitions were
1 in the Porkys
1 at Brighton
I have parts from both.
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The Miner-Denver at Copper Peak was built in 1969.
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I think the Gallery chair (another reliable Riblet double) at Summit Central (Ski Acres), Snoqualmie is a 1962 or 63. I had a newspaper article talking about it once and have seen photos of it from the early 60s. It was the third chairlift built on Snoqualmie Pass. In the 2000s they rarely ran it but after Boyne bought the areas they started to run it almost as frequently as Holiday.
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Correction: I have mistaken the Gallery Lift for the Alpine Bowl chair, which was removed in 98.
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Winter Park has Looking Glass, a 1965 Riblet.
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Mt Ashland in Southern Oregon has Ariel A 1964 Center post Riblet.
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I decided to do a bunch of math to calculate how long a Riblet lasts compared to the average automobile. So let’s say a Riblet lift was built in 1960, operated from 8am – 4pm, for half a year. We can assume that it’s going to be down for maintenance about 5 days that year, and that’ll simplify it so we can just say the Riblet operates for 180 days a year. 8 hours a day, 180 days a year means that Riblet is operating about 1440 hours per season. Since it’s 2019 we’re close enough that we can say that the Riblet is 60 years old. 1440 x 60 gets us at a total of 86,400 hours of operation. Let’s convert this into car terms. Using a database of the average speed of driving in different cities, the average driving speed for an American is 30.224 mph. So if we were to say that the Riblet was putting on 30.224 “miles” per hour, we can get an estimate on how high an odometer would be for operating 86,400 hours. Doing that math, we can see that the Riblet’s supposed odometer would read 2,611,353.6 miles. Already that’s a pretty big number. The average life of a car lasts roughly 150,000 miles or 8 years. Going by miles, the Riblet lasts 17.41x longer than the car, and 7.5x longer by age. So what can we take away from this? Riblets are reliable af and I have too much free time.
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One more thing, a car operating as much as a Riblet would reach 150,000 miles after just 3.52 years. Seeing that the average car life is 150,000 in 8 years, the Riblet is working 2.27 times as hard as the car and still lasts 17.41x longer.
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Revisiting this thread and recalling years of lift maintenance, anything will last if it’s properly designed (which it seems Riblets were) and you throw parts at it (which I have been doing for a number of years, just not on Riblets anymore). I worked on a 1952 Riblet (some sources say 1954) for a few years and it lasted until 2008. If Riblet had still been in business and thus parts more readily available than from Superior Tramway (which is one overworked company) I imagine Baker could have kept it going until it turned 70.
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How old is cold springs double at sun valley?
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It is 49 years old it was built in 1970
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Also, aren’t all of the lifts at Kelly Canyon pretty old?
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Morning Star at Bogus Basin was built in 1965 and is still operating. Why is it not on this list?
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Actually, that lift is history as of a few weeks ago. A new Doppelmayr HSQ is taking its place.
That being said, it was significantly overhauled in 1999 by Superior Tramway when it was converted from a double to a triple.
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Oh I did not know that. the site hasn’t been updated it says that the lift is still operating
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The platter at Blizzard Mountain, Idaho was built in 1962
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Does the Estes Park tram, or the niagra aero car not count? The niagra Aero car was buit in 1916
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I’m not sure. I think it has to be at a ski resort
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Late reply however, Banff gondola doesn’t serve a ski resort and its on the lift.
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Black at Magic would have counted before it was removed.
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hold on, why is the Hemlock double at Boyne mtn, Mi not on here? it says on this site that it was installed in 1948 and used parts of Sun Valley’s original Dollar Mountain chair, the world’s first ski lift.
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It looks to have been retrofitted to the point that only the bottom terminal is original from Sun Valley.
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Peter once wrote that he “only included lifts in their original locations”.
The Hemlock double now basically is a Riblet that reuses both terminals. The drive terminal on top is the original structure, but of course it was modified.
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In that case, the Snowdon Poma needs to be removed from the list. It was relocated to Ramshead and got some new parts from Stratton’s old SMS lift.
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J1 at June Mountain is another 1960 Riblet double.
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J-1 Has a Yan Drive and tension terminal, Heywood controls and think DC Drive is a couple of years old.
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True, the drive tension terminal was replaced in 1986 but 7th Heaven at Steven’s Pass has a newer drive tension terminal as well. That one was even moved slightly so J1 must be worth a mention since it still operates in its original alignment.
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So does 7th Heaven. The new drive terminal has a different configuration so they were able to remove the original tower 1, but the lift is in the same place.
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The Burke Poma was replaced with a T-bar in 2017.
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Mount Mancelona in Michigan has a 1958 Doppelmayer T-Bar.
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Here’s a question for you all
What is the oldest running Detach lift in North America including those that have been relocated?
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Depends on how we define it. Summit at Bachelor was built in ’83, but aside from terminal enclosures and tower tubes I don’t think much else is left as it was upgraded in ’97. Chair 7 at Vail is probably next from ’85, then Pioneer at Winter Park and Coney Glade at Snowmass (’86), then the former Snowlite Express (now Zephyr) at Hunter and Outback Express at Bachelor (’87), then REX (Rainier Express/chair 10) at Crystal (’88) and its siblings whose names escape me at this point. I feel like I’m missing one or two but when I think of any others, I remember they’ve been replaced lately.
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It has been removed for a long time now but Quicksilver Detach Quad was the first detach quad ever built in 1981 at Breckenridge, CO. Also there was Adirondack Express, a HST, at Gore Mountain, NY built in 1984 but removed in 2014.
The siblings of REX are Angel Express at Sunshine Village, Alberta and White Peaks Express at Waterville Valley, NH although White Peaks will be removed next year for a new bubble six pack.
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I keep reading allegedlies that Quicksilver done got moved to somewhere in like Ontario. Normal caveats about sources apply.
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Owl’s Head, QC, but it’s been torn down.
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Lift that replaced Quicksilver when it was at Owls Head https://liftblog.com/du-lac-owls-head-qc/
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I didn’t mention Quicksilver as Kevin asked about the oldest *operating* lifts.
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Ah. I’d missed that set of infos.
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Isn’t the Shovel Handle Lift at Black, NH the oldest operating?
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It is the last operating overhead cable lift in North America, yes. Northeast Slopes in Vermont has an older rope tow, though.
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The T at Veterans Memorial Recreation Area is a 1953 Constam relocated in the late sixties.
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Apparently Ski Vorlage has a 1941 Constam T-Bar. It’s plausible – the ski area opened that year – but I don’t know whether this is true or not.
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